The Emotion Continents

Each emotion is represented as a continent. The movement of the shapes reflects how our emotions vary
in strength and frequency in peoples lives.

The States of an Emotion

Each emotion names a number of related but different states. These states vary not only in their
nature, but in their intensity.

The Triggers of an Emotion

Triggers automatically bring forth an emotion without consideration.

The Actions of a State

Each emotional state typically results in a number of actions. Click on a state to see the
constructive and destructive actions that can result.

The Mood of an Emotion

Moods are longer-lasting cousins of an emotion that cause the related emotion to be felt more
frequently and intensely. It is not always apparent what triggers a mood.

Achieving Calm

Calm is a state of mind that is actively engaged in using intelligence and wisdom to evaulate the
changing world.

About

Paul Ekman is an American psychologist who is a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relation
to facial expressions. He has gained a reputation as "the best human lie detector in the world". Eve
Ekman is currently a Post Doctoral Scholar at UCSF’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. Ekman’s
research interests were inspired by her experience as a medical social worker in the emergency
department of San Francisco General Hospital coupled with her training in the applied emotion
regulation and mindfulness intervention: Cultivating Emotional Balance, CEB.

Donate

This project was generously supported by the Dalia Lama Trust. To give back, and to help bring more
emotion awareness to the world, consider donating here.

Additional Resources

Here are some of the publications that guided us, or that you might be interested in seeking out to
learn more.

Personality Trait

Each emotion has a corresponding personality trait that represents a longer term manifestation of
an emotion.

Psychopathology

Each emotion relates to distinct psychopathologies, which describe a persistent behavior that
interferes with one's ability to function.

Signal and Message

Description of what signals are

Partially-Charted Emotions

Half or less than half of emotion scientists believe there is convincing evidence that each of
the following is an emotion.

The Scientific Basis For This Work

The Emotions Atlas is based on the consensus among scientists (in the choice of the five emotion
continents and the relationship of emotions to moods, personality and psychopathology), the work
of a few scientists who focused on the naming of states within emotions, dictionary definitions
in the glossary, and theory or best guesses about the actions for each state and whether they
are constructive or destructive. For more information, see "What Emotion Scientists Agree
About", by Paul Ekman Perspectives in Psychological Science, in press.